Chapter 216 No Love Left
Fiona had to admit, although harshly, that her encounters with Darwin brought her more joy than pain.
He had skills, unsettlingly good ones.
But to wound a heart to its core, you'd find any excuse to pick apart what's left.
"I thought you enjoyed it," Darwin said, his brow knitted with concern.
Congratulations, Fiona mused, you got it right. But her facade remained icy.
"Let's preserve some dignity for each other, Darwin. The moment you decided to end our child's life, you destroyed any potential future we might have had."
After those words, she averted her gaze and brushed past the stunned Darwin. No need to feign unfamiliarity here anymore.
She went to the dressing room, her eyes briefly welling up as she saw her neatly arranged clothes still in the closet. Time relentlessly marched on.
It seemed like Darwin was trying to cling to something in this place, but delusions remained just that.
She casually changed into a correspondingly fitting set of clothes.
As she exited the dressing room, Darwin stood at the door, barefoot. Fiona ignored him, heading straight for the entrance. Passing by, Darwin pulled her into his embrace once more.
Fiona exhaled a weary sigh.
"Mr. Solomon, you've always been a man of dignity. Is this desperate clinging worth it?" She asked. "I'm married now, with a child. I've moved on from the pain you once caused me and started a new life. If you had the slightest bit of affection for me, you should let go and not disturb the peace I've found."
The mention of marriage and a child was like a knife to Darwin's heart.
" You promised Grandma that you'd forgive me and give me another chance... Please, Fiona, just one more chance," Darwin pleaded, his voice trembling.
Fiona deliberately turned her back. She looked up to see Darwin, his eyes reddened. When had he ever shown such fragility? Maybe... when Lilian had left him, he had been like this too?
“I just don’t love you anymore,” Fiona said, her voice earnest and filled with regret.
Darwin's brow furrowed; the pain in his heart was too intense to be described as mere heartache. Tears rolled down from the corners of his eyes, and as Fiona watched, they seemed to crash heavily onto her own heart.
Ridiculous. It was all too ridiculous. How could he be crying over himself?
“I’m leaving.” Fiona fought the turmoil within her. She couldn’t look back. You must remember every cruel thing he did to you, Fiona, every bit of his resolve to end the life of your child. He doesn't deserve you. Perhaps falling out of love was what had an effect.
Darwin stood there, like an island of solitude, watching Fiona leave with resoluteness. Clutching his chest, even breathing became an act of excruciating pain.
*
Fiona reached the garage, got into her car, and locked the doors. Suddenly, everything quieted down. She gripped the steering wheel, releasing her repressed emotions, allowing the good and the bad to recklessly collide within her.
Before heading to the studio, she made a stop at Grandma Ashton’s place to return her pendant.
As she was about to leave, Ashton arrived.
“Well, look at you glowing! What did you get up to last night?” Ashton, his eyes still somewhat red, joked as if to divert her from seeing through him.
Fiona didn't expose him.
“When have I ever looked bad?” she retorted.
“Grandma, look at her being all smug,” Ashton teased.
Grandma Carey chuckled, though she looked like she had something on her mind too. Fiona wondered. Maria had come to her... was it possible that she had visited the old lady as well?
After a short stay, Fiona left the hospital and headed to the studio.
Just as she arrived, Laura rushed over.
“What’s wrong? Why is our ever-so-graceful Miss Laura in such a hurry? Is the sky falling?” Fiona teased, setting down her bag.
Laura scowled. “Chelsea, Joe’s computer is gone.”
“When did this happen?” Fiona frowned. “Was there anything important on it?”
“The updated proposal for the RH Company project...” Laura replied.
“Oh,” Fiona nodded. “No worries, a thief can’t do much with that. We can remotely wipe the data.”
Laura was puzzled. Chelsea was usually meticulous. Why was she reacting so nonchalantly to such a serious incident today?
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Fiona asked.
"Chelsea, aren't you worried that one of our competitors swiped Joe's laptop?" Laura asked with grave concern in her voice.
Just last year, something similar went down. But that time, it was a coworker's email that got hacked. It was chock-full of important documents related to our project. Chelsea sprung into action the minute she found out, coordinating an emergency response. Sure, some info leaked, but thankfully, Chelsea stepped up big time, saving the project from going belly-up.
"You know what they say back in Armie Country, 'A blessing in disguise,'" Fiona said with a subdued smile. "Don't sweat it. Even if our rivals did get their hands on it, it won't make a dent."
"Ah!" Laura clapped her hands together, then, as if something dawned on her, she leaned in and whispered, "Chelsea, got a plan B?"
Fiona just smiled and didn't answer, but Laura let out a sigh of relief. With the tension easing, Laura became more observant. She took a quick glance at Fiona's outfit. The boss's threads today seemed a tad too loose, a size too big, perhaps. And there was something else... Underneath her collar, barely concealed, was a hint of a blush-colored mark. Suddenly, Laura's mind was racing with juicy speculation. Her normally reserved boss, did she have a wild night out?
"Why haven't you left yet?" Fiona, perplexed, turned to Laura.
Standing tall, Laura shook her head, "I'm on my way out."
Fiona was puzzled. What was with Laura's bizarre behavior today?
But Fiona shrugged it off, her mind already back on the ticking clock. The time to present their proposal to RH Company was looming, and her project outline had just taken shape. Every second counted, especially since she'd lost a whole night and part of the morning to Darwin.
Meanwhile, Fiona buried herself in her work as Ashton left the hospital, ready to meet with her business partner for lunch, followed by an afternoon checking out a property.
Arriving at the private dining room, she found the young man with the golden locks already there, accompanied by his lawyer, no less. They exchanged pleasantries, and lunch commenced. The younger man didn't eat much, yet he somehow always managed to pass Ashton's favorite dishes her way.
Ashton thought to herself, "Could he make it any more obvious he's into me?"
Lunch wrapped up swiftly, and just as the group was about to head out to see the plot of land, Ashton's phone rang. The caller ID flashed "Justin."
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